The iPhone 8 Plus has been the subject of some complaints. Image: Hadrian/Shutterstock
Several iPhone 8 Plus users have reported extensive swelling causing the body of the phone to pop open.
There have been at least five separate reports of swollen batteries in the newly-launched iPhone 8 Plus from Apple, according to The Guardian. Incidents have been logged in Hong Kong, Canada, Greece and Taiwan.
iPhone 8 Plus bursting at the seams
One of the earliest reports was from Twitter user @Magokoro0511, who said that the battery of their iPhone 8 Plus was already swollen after the initial unboxing of the handset took place. A few others are reporting an issue after plugging the phone in to charge, allegedly even when an official Apple charger was used.
届いたiPhone8plus、開けたら既に膨らんでた pic.twitter.com/eX3XprSzqv
— まごころ (@Magokoro0511) September 24, 2017
There have been isolated issues with battery swelling before, with other manufacturers than Apple involved. Battery issues left Samsung hurting after its 2016 Galaxy Note 7 had to be recalled twice – and eventually banned – after batteries exploded and caught fire.
TechRadar was told by Apple that it is looking into the series of complaints, which is unsurprising given Samsung’s damaging battery-related saga in the last number of months. Lithium-ion battery faults can be extremely dangerous, but it is likely that Apple will deal swiftly with the issues presented to prevent a similar scandal and protect users.
None of the battery issues have been reported to cause fire or property damage, which is why they haven’t been reported as total failures.
iOS 11 shortening battery life?
As well as the physical battery issues, users have reported battery drainage problems following the installation of iOS 11 on an internet-wide scale. Twitter, Facebook and others flooded with complaints about the poor battery performance, and weeks later it is still the case, according to security company Wandera.
Damn iOS 11. Left the house with battery at 100% and it’s now at 18% ?
— LP ? (@asheroo92) September 30, 2017
Its analysis of 50,000 iPhones found the decay time an iPhone running iOS 10 under constant use is 240 minutes. For devices that have upgraded to iOS 11, the decay time is just 96 minutes.
Wandera says it could just be teething problems causing the heavy decay rate, but advises against reverting to an older OS.
Main image of the iPhone 8 Plus via Hadrian/Shutterstock
